Join the World’s Water Innovators at WEFTEC 2013

By Eileen O'Neill

Aug. 29, 2013

I am very much looking forward to WEFTEC 2013, one that promises to be not just bigger but also better than ever. The real difference this year is the way it’s getting better: in following WEF’s strategic direction our hard-working program committee has placed the focus squarely where it needs to be to help water professionals be successful, and that focus is on innovation.

With shrinking financial resources and increasing challenges like population growth, climate change, and infrastructure repair and replacement needs, water professionals must be creative. They need to be aware of global as well as local trends and have access to the latest thinking and practical solutions from around the world. And, of course, they need the very latest technical training and education to be even more successful in their work. In short, water professionals need to be at WEFTEC, where innovation is center stage at the world’s largest and best annual water quality conference and exhibition.

WEFTEC provides unique opportunities to connect with and hear from global experts at events like the Water Thought Leaders session, where some of the best and brightest minds in water will share their thinking on the future of cities and water. For me Chicago is one of the world’s great cities and water is very much part of its identity and its uniqueness. It provides a perfect place to have a conversation about water and cities. In fact, the city of Chicago and its relationship with water helped inspire the idea of asking global water leaders to come to WEFTEC and share their insights regarding how a focus on water can improve the livability, vitality, and even the competitiveness of communities and how to enable the adoption of innovative thinking and new approaches to urban water management. For this exciting session on Monday from 10:30 am to noon, our confirmed panelists are listed below.

While you are on out on that massive show floor, check out the Innovation Showcase, where you’ll find new ideas about products, technology evaluations, utilities and early adopters of new technologies, financing and alternative project delivery, and much more through a series of educational sessions, networking events, and exhibits. For example you can help reinvent the toilet at the Gates Foundation exhibit or meet innovation leaders including winners from Imagine H20, BlueTech Forum, and The Water Council’s Global Freshwater Seed Accelerator program—plus our own WEF Innovation Award winners.

And of course innovation isn’t always about the next high-tech idea – and WEF’s Operator Ingenuity Contest showcases the practical creativity of our professional operators. Contest winners will share their innovative solutions on Wednesday morning at WEFTEC. I know you’ll be inspired by the resourcefulness of our practicing professionals, have fun, and maybe pick up an idea you can use.

Speaking of innovation, I’d be remiss not to mention the WEFTEC Mobile App, a free preshow planning and onsite navigation tool to help you have the best possible WEFTEC experience. Download yours at www.weftec.org/weftecmobile and check out our comprehensive programming focus on innovation. And don’t miss the chance to join water innovators from all over the world--register for WEFTEC 2013 today!

WEFTEC provides unique opportunities to connect with and hear from global experts at events like the Water Thought Leaders session, where some of the best and brightest minds in water will share their thinking on the future of cities and water.

Join the World’s Water Innovators at WEFTEC 2013

By Eileen O'Neill

Aug. 29, 2013

I am very much looking forward to WEFTEC 2013, one that promises to be not just bigger but also better than ever. The real difference this year is the way it’s getting better: in following WEF’s strategic direction our hard-working program committee has placed the focus squarely where it needs to be to help water professionals be successful, and that focus is on innovation.

With shrinking financial resources and increasing challenges like population growth, climate change, and infrastructure repair and replacement needs, water professionals must be creative. They need to be aware of global as well as local trends and have access to the latest thinking and practical solutions from around the world. And, of course, they need the very latest technical training and education to be even more successful in their work. In short, water professionals need to be at WEFTEC, where innovation is center stage at the world’s largest and best annual water quality conference and exhibition.

WEFTEC provides unique opportunities to connect with and hear from global experts at events like the Water Thought Leaders session, where some of the best and brightest minds in water will share their thinking on the future of cities and water. For me Chicago is one of the world’s great cities and water is very much part of its identity and its uniqueness. It provides a perfect place to have a conversation about water and cities. In fact, the city of Chicago and its relationship with water helped inspire the idea of asking global water leaders to come to WEFTEC and share their insights regarding how a focus on water can improve the livability, vitality, and even the competitiveness of communities and how to enable the adoption of innovative thinking and new approaches to urban water management. For this exciting session on Monday from 10:30 am to noon, our confirmed panelists are listed below.

While you are on out on that massive show floor, check out the Innovation Showcase, where you’ll find new ideas about products, technology evaluations, utilities and early adopters of new technologies, financing and alternative project delivery, and much more through a series of educational sessions, networking events, and exhibits. For example you can help reinvent the toilet at the Gates Foundation exhibit or meet innovation leaders including winners from Imagine H20, BlueTech Forum, and The Water Council’s Global Freshwater Seed Accelerator program—plus our own WEF Innovation Award winners.

And of course innovation isn’t always about the next high-tech idea – and WEF’s Operator Ingenuity Contest showcases the practical creativity of our professional operators. Contest winners will share their innovative solutions on Wednesday morning at WEFTEC. I know you’ll be inspired by the resourcefulness of our practicing professionals, have fun, and maybe pick up an idea you can use.

Speaking of innovation, I’d be remiss not to mention the WEFTEC Mobile App, a free preshow planning and onsite navigation tool to help you have the best possible WEFTEC experience. Download yours at www.weftec.org/weftecmobile and check out our comprehensive programming focus on innovation. And don’t miss the chance to join water innovators from all over the world--register for WEFTEC 2013 today!

Eileen O’Neill is the Executive Director of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an international organization of more than 33,000 water quality professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Va.

Most recently WEF's deputy executive director, Dr. O’Neill has worked with the Federation for just over 20 years in a variety of positions including with responsibility for oversight of WEF’s technical, international, and communications programs and served as the organization’s chief technical officer before becoming deputy executive director in late 2011.

Before joining WEF she worked as an academic and in environmental consulting in the US and in Europe. She has a B.S. in Soil Science from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK) and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Aberdeen (U.K.) and undertook a postdoctoral traineeship in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.